After years of dishing out Hot Topics on her namesake talk show, Wendy Williams‘ life is becoming the hot topic of its own movie. On Thursday, Lifetime released the first trailer for Wendy Williams: The Movie, its upcoming biopic that will give fans an intimate look at the longtime talk show host’s rise to fame, from her early days as a radio star to the launch of her daily syndicated talk show, The Wendy Williams Show.
The minute-long trailer stars actress Ciera Payton as the TV personality declaring that “Wendy Williams is not going anywhere” as she speaks behind a radio mic, adding, “I’m gonna come in like a hurricane.” Chronicling the ups and downs of her life, the trailer also teases Williams’ relationship with now ex-husband Kevin Hunter (played by P-Valley‘s Morocco Omari), whom she divorced 2019 after his alleged affair. At one point in the trailer, Payton as Williams yells, “Before I had you, I had me. And not you, nor anyone else, have the power to take away my gifts,” during an argument with Hunter. The film will also tackle Williams’ struggles with substance abuse, with an off-screen character accusing her when stating, “you’re self-indulgent, you’re narcissistic, you’ve got a coke habit.”
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The trailer also showed a re-enactment of Williams’ 2017 on-camera fainting spell as she was dressed as the Statue of Liberty for Halloween. It ends with Williams stating, “I’m gonna bring the heat. I will turn this city out.”
The biopic was first confirmed to be in the works in July of 2019, with Lifetime saying in a statement at the time that “the authorized project provides a revealing look at Wendy’s journey, from her scrappy upstart days in urban radio to the success of her own syndicated talk show. Despite all the naysayers and obstacles Wendy encountered throughout her life, her strength and determination have allowed her to thrive.” The film is by Darren Grant, with Williams serving as executive producer alongside Will Packer and Sheila Ducksworth. Leigh Davenport and Scarlett Lacey penned the script.
Wendy Williams: The Movie premieres on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime. It will be followed by a feature-length documentary on Williams, according to PEOPLE, in which she will discuss “her path to success and the many experiences she’s had along the way.”
